What do you want the country to be (A political blog)

In this election there are quite a few differences among the two presidential candidates. I just want to illustrate a few along the lines of what the government should be responsible for.

In a recent speech, Barack Obama said he wanted to make government cool again. He said that it was government that gave us the Civil Rights Act, Interstate highways, and national parks. Okay. The government may have passed the legislation enacting the Civil Rights Act, but it was the citizens, men and women like Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks, who fought for those rights. Ordinary citizens fought and forced the government to act. Just like ordinary citizens worked for Women's Sufferage (right to vote) in the 1920's.

And sure, Dwight Eisenhower got the interstate system started, but it was paid for by citizens. The same as the park system. Obama shouldn't pat the government on the back too hard. It's us, the average tax payers who have paid for these things, not a couple hundred greedy idiots (Congress) that did it for us.

Here are some of the things Obama wants the government to spend money on, and my response afterwards:

• A $65 billion-a-year health plan. This is socialized medicine. This is the same plan that has failed everywhere it's tried. Sure, your healthcare if free (if you don't count the fact that your taxes are going to jump), but will you actually get in to see a doctor? If you want to understand how socialized medicine works, look at Medicaid patients. A Medicaid patient will typically go to an ER for a minor cough because the ER is free to them, Robitusson costs $5. If you don't have to pay, you won't take responsibility.
• $15 billion in green energy spending. This is a hoax. All the "green" stuff you see is just the corporate world buying into the global warming theory. Did you know that to create a hybrid battery for a car you actually cause more pollution than that car will ever save? The parts for these batteries come from all over the world, get shipped to Japan or wherever, then shipped back to the sales lot. More pollution to make you "think" you're saving the world. This also includes wind power which is much more expensive than traditional power. You think your heating and cooling bills are bad now? Just wait. And I notice Obama doesn't support nuclear power, which is safe and clean. John McCain does.
• $85 billion in tax cuts and credits. Great. I like tax cuts. The credits, on the other hand, will probably go to the lower class who don't pay taxes anyway. The problem with this is that with all the extra spending Obama proposes, you'll never get a tax cut, even if you're in the middle class. Bill Clinton promised a middle class tax cut too. Instead, he raised taxes on everyone. But people like Obama know they can't expect to be elected if they tell the truth. They can make promises to help the middle class and punish the wealthy, but that's not how it will happen. I notice Obama doesn't even talk about balancing the budget. But then, the mess our budget has gotten into over the last eight years probably makes that impossible at this point. At least John McCain wants to combine tax cuts with cuts to spending.
• A $25 billion-a-year increase in foreign aid. In other words, more money to people who will hate us and hurt us if they can. Money to tsunami victims who hate the US and blame us for their suffering. I'm not saying we shouldn't help others around the world, but maybe we should cut back on helping people who take our money while spitting in our faces.
• $18 billion a year in education spending. I have a plan to help improve education in our country. Get rid of "No Child Left Behind" because it punishes school districts for not doing well. I also think teachers should be given competitive salaries. By the time you go to school to become a teacher, you may realize that with the same time and skill set, you can make much more money than a starting teacher. In fact, I may quite a bit more than starting teachers in Missouri, and that's with no college degree. But we have to be careful where the money goes because some of the school districts with the highest budgets have the worst records.
• $3.5 billion for a national service plan. National parks are great. We preserve our future by...something, something, something. Do we need to spend more on parks? Can't we just raise the price to get in or something?

So, this is a plan that will cost $800 billion dollars over the course of four years. How can we pay for this? Raising taxes on the wealthy? Okay, so the taxes go up for your boss, the people your work buys supplies from, the people who sell you your clothes, food, car, and gas. You don't think that tax won't be dumped on you, the struggling middle class American?

Beyond that, every time in US history taxes has been raised, the money the government brings in goes down. Why? Taxes kill productivity and hurt Americans that may otherwise spend money. When taxes are cut, government tax collections go up. More people spending money and an environment where businesses can flourish.

Just think about that when you vote.